It’s a point that Anderson makes, too. Consider the flexibility that comes with an airline flying two 787s instead of one A380 on a route, he says. If the airline doesn’t sell enough seats, “then you can peel an airplane off,” he says. “You can’t peel half of a 380 off.”

The A380 also has four engines, which is double that on aircraft like the A350 and Boeing 787. And fewer engines comes with its advantages. “All other things being equal, two very large engines will be more fuel efficient than four engines that make the same amount of thrust,” Anderson says. Modern jet engines are big enough, and reliable enough, that even if one fails, the...